


the smallest minyard

by missbolton



Series: hope minyard [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Gen, andrew holds his niece for the first time and feels emotions™, healthy twinyard relationship!!!! yay!!!!, the foxes are all one huge family :)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-09 02:44:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14707625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missbolton/pseuds/missbolton
Summary: Two little eyes look up at him, wide and slowly blinking from within Katelyn’s arms. The child is in a white blanket, wisps of blonde hair on it’s head and a toothless mouth opening and closing. Andrew remembers Kevin telling him the name is Hope.Hope Minyard.





	the smallest minyard

**Author's Note:**

> hello andrew minyard is soft for babies and that's a fact

Andrew still doesn’t think this is a good idea.

The house is big, cushioned nicely within a neighbourhood of similar houses, and they all look the same. Without exception, every single one has a neatly trimmed front lawn and an expensive car parked in the drive, probably belonging to disgustingly domestic families - exactly like Aaron and Katelyn. Areas like this have always sparked dread within him - Andrew can perfectly recall being driven to a new house every year or so when he was younger, each perfect family promising a new start, a new  _ home _ . He can also remember the sense of hope which faded gradually, slowly dissolving until there was nothing left. 

He and Neil stop holding hands when they reach the door. Even all these years later, it is only theirs, something private. Not for prying eyes. The loss of contact makes the dread significantly more pronounced, with nothing to hold onto as they stare at the obnoxiously red door. Andrew notices the nervous flicker of Neil’s eyes as he catalogues his surroundings, although he is generously pretending that he is fine. That is his favourite game to play.

“Ready?” Neil asks.

Andrew raises one eyebrow. “Are you?”

There’s no reply.

The doorbell is of a distressingly loud volume, followed by a chorus of voices. Even from outside, it’s easy to identify, “That’s Andrew and Neil!” and Nicky’s joyous exclamation that he’ll get the door. It has barely swung open before Nicky is reaching forwards and tackling Neil into a hug. Andrew raises his eyebrows and watches how Neil returns it lamely, patting Nicky on the back before they pull away. He doesn’t try and hug Andrew, but holds out a fist. Reluctantly, Andrew fistbumps him, rolling his eyes at how Nicky smiles even wider. It must be tiring, being that happy all the time. 

“I haven’t seen you in  _ ages _ ,” he says, half-chiding, half-gleeful. “Either of you. Come in, come in. Everybody’s here!”

And, as Nicky said, everybody is there. Aaron and Katelyn have a spacious living room, but with nine or more people packed into it, nobody looks entirely comfortable. 

The first people to hug Neil are Matt and Dan. They both knock into him at the same time, fighting for who gets the first hug. Matt wins, encircling Neil in his long arms, but Dan is not far behind him, her arms wrapping round Neil’s waist and her head on his other shoulder. They look quite comical, all three of them wrapped in a confusing hug, two parents and their overgrown child.

Then it is Allison. When she hugs Neil, she hugs him like an older sister would, running a hand through his hair and smiling proudly. She doesn’t even acknowledge Andrew’s existence. He’s perfectly fine with that. 

Renee greets Neil with a one-armed hug and Andrew with a nod. He returns it. She’s stopped dying her hair those array of colours now, settling for her natural brown with a few odd highlights throughout it.

Aaron is at the back of the greeting queue. He looks so unbearably like a  _ dad _ \- a sweater, jeans that don’t cling to his legs, facial hair and sleep deprived shadows smudging under his eyes - that Andrew isn’t sure what to do. Their joint therapy sessions had fixed most of their hostility towards each other, but their relationship wasn’t just going to miraculously  _ mend _ . They are brothers, yet they were strangers for most of their life, and when they were finally brought together, there wasn’t one positive thing between them. At least they’ve reached the point where Aaron can say, “Hello,” and Andrew can send his own greeting nod back.

Katelyn, background noise as usual, appears with a strange creature cradled in her arms and a timid smile. Andrew can feel Neil stiffen beside him. He feels his own stomach knot. 

Two little eyes look up at him, wide and slowly blinking from within Katelyn’s arms. The child is in a white blanket, wisps of blonde hair on it’s head and a toothless mouth opening and closing. Andrew remembers Kevin telling him the name is  _ Hope _ .

Hope Minyard.

“Could Neil or Andrew hold her?” Renee supplies helpfully. It’s clear nobody else is up to the challenge of talking.

Neil opens his mouth and closes it again. He hasn’t the first clue when it comes to children, and much less does he trust himself to hold such a delicate human.

“Andrew?

He weighs over the pros and cons, scanning each face. Nicky is staring at him hopefully and the beginnings of a smile are forming on Matt’s face. There is an undercurrent of dread pulling his chest tight, but Andrew forces it deep down. It is just a child. Just his … niece. His family.

The child has fixed eyes on Andrew now, blue and innocent. 

Andrew takes another second and a deep breath before saying, “Okay.”

He sits on the couch, trying to hide the slight tremble in his hands as the child - Hope - is handed to him. Katelyn keeps her eyes warily on his arms, but there are no knives in the bands today. Neil’s presence had been enough of a safety net for him to leave them behind.

Once the child is fully in his arms, Andrew focuses on the light weight of her body, how fragile she really is. One of her tiny arms waves around, even tinier fist clenched. Andrew looks at her for a long time, feeling a pang of emotion deep in his gut. It stays firmly inside of him, never breaking his blank expression.

Allison looks reluctant, arms tense and ready to snatch the child away at the slightest hint of a problem, and so does Katelyn, although it’s obvious she’s fighting those natural urges. Her arms are stiff by her sides, and Aaron rubs a hand over her shoulder reassuringly.

Nicky is watching with his hand over his heart, as if the scene in front of him is causing him actual emotional pain. Andrew hopes he isn’t going to start crying.

“Is that okay?” Neil asks, hovering close, looking uncharacteristically anxious. Who knew the presence of an infant would put him on edge so much? 

“Yes,” Andrew says. His voice lacks the usual razor edge. It is subdued, soft. That is usually the kind of voice reserved for lazy weekends and evenings with Neil, not in a room with the rest of the team. “It’s fine.”

Hope Minyard looks up at him, curious. Everything about her is so  _ small _ . Little button nose, miniature mouth, tiny fluttering eyelashes. 

“Let her have your finger,” Aaron says quietly. “To hold.”

Andrew holds out his index finger; Hope reaches up and wraps her fingers around it. Her skin is so soft against his calloused hands. She is so pure, a blank canvas for life to paint on. Here is Andrew, riddled with sin, holding close a child with no moral wrongs. He feels as if his own darkness is going to leak out onto her and he’s going to permanently ruin Aaron’s daughter. 

“I think I’m going to cry,” somebody says. It’s either Matt or Nicky. Everything is rushing past his ears, life just a faint buzzing in the background.

“What’s her second name?” asks Neil, who sounds less and less faint by the moment.

It is Aaron who answers. “Josephine.”

Andrew snaps his head up to look at his twin, eyes sharpened in a question.

“Like … Joseph?” Nicky asks, making a strange sound in the back of his throat. 

“Like Joseph,” confirms Katelyn. She makes eye contact with Andrew for the briefest of seconds, warmth flashing in her eyes. “Aaron picked it out.”

Andrew looks down again. He looks at Hope Josephine Minyard, this defenseless baby with her harmless fingers wrapped around his, her even breathing and the patter of her heartbeat, and feels something alien tug at his insides.

Before he hands her back, Andrew strokes a soft line down the side of her chubby cheek.

He decides that Hope is his favourite member of the family. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm quite unsure with this because aaron and Andrew are v complicated to write. so uh??? comment opinions???


End file.
